Car usage in Ireland continues to rise despite increase in public transport journeys

The use of cars in Ireland continues to rise as more private vehicles were registered last month than in August 2022, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has said.

According to its monthly transport bulletin, the number of private cars registered rose by 27 per cent compared to last year, while the use of petrol and diesel also increased. The number of road deaths was also an increase on last year as the total number of fatalities more than doubled.

According to the CSO report, released on Tuesday morning, the use of public transport also increased across the country as the number of bus journeys taken in August 2023 once again exceeded pre-pandemic levels.

In August 2023, there were 11,328 new private cars and 4,559 used imported private cars newly licensed. The registration of new private cars rose by 27 per cent, while used cars were up by four per cent.

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The CSO says that 297 million litres of diesel were cleared in July 2023. This represents an increase of 0.3 per cent on the July 2022 figures and is five per cent lower than July 2021. The use of petrol in July of this year rose by six per cent compared to 2022.

On the week beginning August 28 2023, traffic counting sites in Dublin recorded an increase of approximately 15,000 cars on the road compared to the same week last year, an increase of three per cent. At various regional sites outside of Dublin, an increase of just under 14,000 cars - or eight per cent - on the road was recorded across the same period this year.

There were 26 fatalities on Irish roads in August 2023, an increase on 12 deaths in August 2022 and 21 in August 2021.

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Alongside the increase in car registration and fuel use, Dr Nele van der Wielen, statistician in the CSO’s transport division pointed out that public transport usage continued to rise last month when compared to pre-pandemic figures. “The number of bus journeys in Dublin for week 35 of 2023 (week beginning 28 August 2023) was nine per cent higher compared with the number of journeys in the same week in pre-pandemic 2019,” she said.

“Comparing the same week with 2022, there was a 16 per cent increase in the number of bus journeys in Dublin. The number of bus journeys outside of Dublin for week 35 of 2023 exceeded 2019 figures by 20 per cent and by 19 per cent when compared with the same week in 2022.”

Dublin airport reported an increase in the number of passengers travelling in August 2023 of 12 per cent compared to the same month last year. August’s figure was one per cent higher than pre-pandemic levels recorded in August 2019. Cork airport saw a 12 per cent increase in passengers last month, while its August 2023 figure was three per cent higher than August 2019. Knock airpot reported a rise of 10 per cent last month compared to August 2022.

All three airports combined saw 3,828,839 passengers handled in August 2023, an increase of just over 37,000 people compared to the same month in 2019.